NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College men's soccer team lost a high-scoring affair at Mazzella Field at the hands of Quinnipiac on Monday. The Bobcats won 5-3 in a match that featured six second-half goals.
MATCH SUMMARY
Today's match didn't start quite as fast as the Saturday tilt with Siena, which featured a goal for the Saints in the opening six minutes of action, but it was certainly action packed.
Lenworth Lopez did the honors of breaking the ice, scoring the first goal of the match in the 30th minute of action. Lopez played a ball from
Eduardo Calvo-Salinas down to his right foot, which he launched past Antreas Hadjigavriel to give Iona the 1-0 advantage.
The ensuing kickoff saw the Bobcats race down the field and feed a ball into the box that resulted in a takedown and award the visitors with a penalty kick just 23 seconds after Lopez's goal. Tomas Svecula was the beneficiary of the penalty kick, guiding it into the lower right corner of the net and tying the match.
After play resumed with a clean slate, David Bercedo had his sights on putting his team ahead. He curled a shot from outside the box towards the crossbar that
Gabriel Cinanni barely nudged up and over the bar, keeping the match tied at one apiece. Neither side had a much better chance than that over the final 15 minutes of play.
The second half started fast, and once again saw goals scored by each side within less than a minute of each other. Quinnipiac's Alex Holle found twine 3:16 into half number two, giving the Bobcats their first lead of the afternoon. The lead lasted all of 20 seconds, as Lopez and the Gaels did just as the Bobcats did in the first half: scored immediately ensuing the resumption of play.
Luke Monaghan played a ball from beyond midfield up towards the streaking Lopez, who registered the first multi-goal effort of his career with a right-footed shot past Hadjigavriel to wipe the slate clean again.
There was a 15-minute lull in the action before the next barrage of goals. During that time period,
Tomas Jamett exited the match after being handed his second yellow card of the match, forcing the Maroon & Gold to play with 10 men. Quinnipiac's Brage Aasen proceeded to score twice in a 114-second span, gifting his team a two-goal lead. Still, the Gaels were not going to go down without a fight.
Camil Azzam Ruiz scored the first goal of his Iona career just 36 seconds after Aasen's second of the match.
Alessio Hernandez was credited with the assist after his initial shot came off of the hands of Hadjigavriel and Azzam Ruiz cleaned it up.
The Maroon & Gold now faced a one-goal deficit for the third time of the afternoon, but unlike the first instance, Iona could not find an equalizer. The Gaels came very close, as an all-out attack saw
Eddy Vargas and
Josh Plimpton both have chances at goal that were blocked by Quinnipiac players inside the box. Bercedo delivered the dagger after the latter of Iona's two shots deflected out towards midfield. Quinnipiac's striker gathered and raced up the field, creating a two-on-one opportunity with only Cinanni in front of him. Bercedo's shot trickled past the Iona keeper, closing the door on the match in the 82nd minute.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Lopez scored twice in the match for the first time in his collegiate career. He leads the team with four goals and eight points this season.
- Azzam Ruiz's goal was the first of his Maroon & Gold career. Hernandez had the assist on the goal, the first point of his career.
- Calvo-Salinas had the helper on the first goal of the match, the second straight match he has registered a point.
- Monaghan assisted on Lopez's second goal, the first career point for the defender from Warrington, England.
- Iona's three goals, three assists and 17 shots were all season highs.
- The eight combined goals between the two teams are the most in a contest between Iona and an opponent since September 4, 2014 when Iona lost 6-2 to Delaware. It is the most in a match against a MAAC opponent since October 21, 2012 when the Gaels beat Rider 6-5 at Mazzella Field.
- On three separate occasions in the match, goals were scored within one minute of each other. The first two goals of the match were scored 23 seconds apart. The fourth goal found the back of the net exactly 20 seconds after the third and the seventh tally came 36 seconds after the sixth.
- Iona played a man down for the final 31+ minutes after Jamett was assessed his second yellow card of the contest. Quinnipiac scored three goals with the man-up advantage.
- The home loss for Iona is the first since October 30, 2019 when Rider won 2-1 in double overtime at Mazzella Field. The Gaels had won their last four at home prior to today.
AROUND THE MAAC
- Fairfield scored twice in the second half to defeat Manhattan 2-0.
- Saint Peter's downed Canisius on the road in Buffalo, 3-1.
- Niagara netted two goals in the final minute of regulation, topping Siena 2-0.
UP NEXT
Iona hosts Saint Peter's on Thursday, April 8 at 1:00 p.m. on Mazzella Field in a rematch of the 2019 MAAC Championship. The regular season finale will also serve as Iona's senior day.
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